Thank you so much for sitting down with us for PRIDE month!
So, tell us a little bit about you. How did you get into writing?
When I was younger I remember hiding my notebooks from my siblings in my hat and writing ‘songs’. Turns out, I have no affinity whatsoever in performing music, only enjoying it. Turns out I loved writing ‘poetry’ … about trees coming alive and taking revenge on the bullies. EEK! As I got older, I wrote stories for years, participating in NaNoWriMo every single year, and winning … only to then put the MS’s in the bottom drawer never to see the light of day. I gave up the idea of professional writing for many years. It wasn’t until after my son was born and I was searching to find myself again I realised that I had stopped writing. I also realised that to be able to be the best parent I could, I had to also embrace the fear and be brave. And I’ve never been happier embracing the author within.
What piece of writing are you most proud of and why?
I am so proud of many pieces of my writing. My debut dark fantasy novella, Cold As Hell will always hold a very special place.
What tropes and genres would you like to see more of in LGBTQIA2S+ representation?
I would love to see more butch/butch sapphic pairings, as well as more dark fantasy and sci-fi genres with representations of all the letters in our rainbow.
As an author do you intentionally try to represent LGBTQIA2S characters in your stories?
You know that old adage, write what you know. Sure, it doesn’t always work when you are writing massacres and the Fae BUT I write what I know and what I know is diversity and how much I would have benefitted throughout my life seeing more LGBTQIA2S+ representation in the books I devoured.
Who have been your biggest supporters?
My family, Frankie and Carter have always been my biggest supporters, but I have also been beyond lucky with the writing tribe (some in person some online) I have found, and the endless support I am given from them all.
What communities (online, IRL, paid, free) are you a part of that support for your writing?
Eerie River author group *insert inept wink here*, and my local writers’ group, The Springfield Writers Group have been two of the best communities I’ve become a member of. The authors I’ve met through both of these groups have been life changing and have helped me so much as an author and a human being.
If you were a flavour of icecream what would it be?
In the immortal words of Ani DiFranco … I am 32 flavours and then some.
Author Biography:
Neen Cohen is an Australian Sapphic Speculative Fiction author. She lives in Brisbane with her partner, son and fur babies, has a Bachelor of Creative Industries from Queensland University of Technology, and is a member of the Springfield Writer's Group. She's had a multitude of 'day jobs' to pay the bills but her heart has always been in the art of marking dead trees with squiggles of ink and graphite.
When she’s not running after her son, spending time with her partner, or working at the current 'day job', she can be found writing while sitting against a tombstone or tree in any number of graveyards. She's also discovered a new found passion for throwing sharp objects at thick pieces of wood (knife throwing and axe throwing) and tries to squeeze at least 30 hours in to each day because sleep is for the weak.
Check out Neen’s latest misadventures - https://linktr.ee/neencohen
Or you can find here below:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/neencohenauthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neenauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CohenNeen
TikTok: @neencohen